The present invention relates generally to techniques for integrating television and computer systems.
It is not uncommon for television programming transmitted to viewers to include Internet web addresses or other information that the viewers can use to access additional information related to the programming. For example, television advertisements often include Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) which identify the web site of the advertising company. Similarly, television news programs and televised events often display URLs which identify web sites corresponding to the respective programs and events. In this type of arrangement, a viewer desiring to access a URL displayed in a television program must either write down the URL or attempt to remember it. The viewer then enters the URL in a browser program on their personal computer in order to access the corresponding web site.
Recently, systems have been developed which allow viewers to access web sites from a television using a television set-top box. Such systems typically operate in a manner similar to web browsers on personal computers. As a result, such systems are generally unable to extract a URL from a televised program such that the viewer need not reenter it to access the corresponding web site. Furthermore, such systems are unable to present web content to a viewer in synchronization with television programming which includes the corresponding URLs. For example, even a viewer which has a computer and a television in close proximity must continually enter the televised URLs in order to view a sequence of web content related to the television programming. Other systems integrate a television tuner and a computer, enabling the display of web pages on the same monitor and at the same time as a television program. However, the web page section and the television program section in such systems operate independently.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/965,633, filed Nov. 6, 1997 in the name of inventors Samuel J. Bendinelli and Venkatesh Krishnaswamy, subsequently issued on May 9, 2000 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,719, and assigned to the assignee of the present application, discloses techniques for transmitting URLs with a television signal so as to synchronize the presentation of information from corresponding web pages with the displayed programming of the television signal. However, as proposed in application Ser. No. 08/965,633, all viewers of the same television program are directed to the same URL at the same time, at least insofar as the automatic synchronization feature described in that application operates.
We have recognized that since the features of application Ser. No. 08/965,633 comport with the conventional notion of broadcast television that all viewers should see the same thing, these features are limited in some respects. For example, the automatic synchronization feature generally does not permit viewers to utilize transmitted URLs to customize the manner in which a program is displayed so as to better suit their personal preferences.
Therefore, in accordance with the principles of the invention, URLs, or other network information identifiers, transmitted with television signals permit viewers to alter the presentation of the corresponding programs. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a base URL or other network information identifier embedded in a television signal is used as a first input to a function, which also receives as an input viewer selection information, e.g., stored in memory at the receiving location. The viewer selection is made at a time prior to the scheduled display of a program or portion thereof, from among a number of available alternate characteristics for the program, such as one of a number of available alternate endings. The function determines a combined URL which identifies information which is ultimately retrieved and displayed to a viewer. For example, the retrieved information may be video which is displayed to the viewer in place of at least a portion of the program. As another example, the retrieved information may be a web page or pages, with different portions of the program displayed in different windows of the page or pages. The television signal may also include timing information, which indicates when the retrieved information should be displayed to the viewer, and size and location information, which indicates the respective size and location of one or more windows in which the retrieved information or portions thereof may be displayed to the viewer. Thus, an integration of the viewer-customized retrieved information and the broadcast program information may be achieved. Advantageously, the viewing experience may be customized for each television set or other display device with the ability to display web pages in response to viewer selection information stored at the receiving location.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the viewer selection of a program ending or other program characteristic may be made in response to a selection display generated using an additional URL transmitted with the television signal. For example, the selection display may be in the form of a web page retrieved using the additional URL. The selection display may list the available alternate program characteristics along with statistical information regarding previous selections made by other viewers. This allows a viewer to determine which of the alternate program characteristics have been most popular with other viewers. The statistics may also be supplied to content providers for use in determining information such as audience share and viewer preferences.